Twisted Metal: Masks
by caminopreacher
Summary: Mr. Grimm is looking for a way out of Blackfield Asylum. He aims to hunt down Calypso and get revenge on the man that ruined his life and killed his best friend. He runs into a bit of a problem. She wears a mask too...
1. Chapter 1: Escape

Good evening all. I haven't written anything in a very long time. I'm going to attempt something that will be a bit of a challenge this time around. I have been playing through a few of my old Twisted Metal games, and thought it would be amusing to try my hand at a sort of twisted romance story. The story takes place after Twisted Metal: Black. Everyone else is back at the Asylum except for Sweet Tooth, who won the contest and is now on the loose (Yes, I know everyone was killed in the contest save for the victor, but it is an alternate universe, so there isn't exactly a rulebook when you have a guy with no eyes, or mouth talking and driving). Anyway, please be nice and, as always, comments are greatly appreciated. Here we go.

This story begins with a man named Grimm running down a dark corridor…

Grimm did not have the time or the patience to rot in this hell-hole any longer. He had killed the guard who brought him his medication, and was now in the process of evading the others while looking for a way out of the asylum. He could hear voices coming from every direction, and he needed a place to hide and to think. He took the keys that he had obtained from the dead guard and used the biggest one to open the door closest to him. The key he used was the one used to open the doors of the asylum's most "interesting" patients. Grimm knew it was only a matter of time before he was found, since the place was undoubtedly being searched top to bottom in an effort to find him. Still, a moment to remain out of sight and to clear his head was all he needed. He quickly entered the room and closed the rather heavy door behind him.

He was surprised to see the occupant of this particular room. She was equally shocked to see someone other than a guard enter her cell.

"I remember you. You were in Mr. Calypso's contest… your mask scares me…" she trailed off.

"Could've fooled me", Grimm said impatiently. "First, his name is Benny, and he is a friend. Second, you're not exactly an open book with that mask of yours, either. Look, the guards are looking for me, and I need to get out of here. I don't think I can do it solo, though. You want out of this place?" Grimm asked.

The girl didn't answer. She just stared.

"Look," Grimm shouted "We don't have much time, do you want out of here or not?"

She flinched. It seemed she was a bit uneasy with the situation, but Grimm had no time for sympathies. "Okay…" she said finally.

(45 minutes and 14 dead guards later, they were in the bay where the vehicles from the contest were being held as evidence).

Grimm mounted his motorbike and turned the key.

"Get on. They'll catch up soon, and we need to be quick if we wanna get outta this place!" Grimm said firmly.

"But I can't leave my-" she objected.

"We need to move fast, and I remember what you drove in the tournament. Do you really think you can be discrete in that monster of a semi? Get on, or get left." Grimm rasped.

They drove for about two hours and ended up at an old abandoned garage that Grimm and Benny used to occupy in high school before they were shipped off to war.

"What is this place?" the masked girl asked, still a bit unnerved from their whole escape attempt.

"This is where Benny and I learned everything we know about cars and bikes." Grimm said plainly. "Now that I'm out, I'm gonna find Calypso and make him bring me the guy that cost me my sanity and took Benny's life. I'm gonna make him pay." Grimm growled.

"What about you?" Grimm asked, "What're you plannin' on since you're free?"

She flinched at his statement. "I'm not free. I'll never be free as long as this mask stays on", she said sadly.

"Can't you take it off?" Grimm inquired.

"No, Mr. Creol locked it up good and tight with a special key that he made. That key is the only way to get it off."

"So that's your plan? To track down this guy and lose the mask?" Grimm asked.

"I don't know", she said "The whole thing is my fault anyway… If I hadn't been so clumsy, Mr. Creol wouldn't have had to lock me in this mask for…"

Grimm cut her off. "Hold on, Doll," he said "That guy didn't have any right to lock you up in this thing. Don't blame yourself. You've got a life to live, and it's still salvageable. Take it from someone that doesn't have anything left to live for but revenge, you've got a chance here, and you owe it to yourself to take it."

"I'm not so sure…" she spattered.

"Listen, how about I help you find this "Mr. Creol" and get that key from him? Then you can help me find Calypso and get my payback. Sound like a plan?"

"Why would you help me? I don't deserve any of this." She was stunned.

"You don't deserve to be locked away when you didn't do anything wrong. I've killed more people than I care to remember, and I don't feel any regret. My sole purpose in life now is to track down the bastard that ruined it. If I can help you, at least I can have the satisfaction of knowing I've done one good thing with this screwed up life of mine. How about it?"

The girl was beside herself. "I…thank you."

"Let's get going then." Grimm called, as he made his way toward his two-wheeler.

End Chapter 1

Author's Note: Well this is my first stab at chapters. I need to figure out where to go with this. I've got a pretty good idea. What do y'all think? Is this whole thing convincing, or am I wasting my time?


	2. Chapter 2: Freedom

Here's chapter 2. Hope y'all enjoy!

A commotion could be heard inside of a quiet house in the suburbs.

"You!" a disheveled elderly man screamed in shock, "How did you get here? I thought they locked you away for good!" The man was clearly in a panic.

The masked girl took a step toward him. "You took away my childhood and my life. I didn't mean to make you angry, but you put me in this mask anyway! Where is the key, Mr. Creol? Please give it to me!" she begged him.

"Not a chance!" he spat. "You are never getting out of that contraption, and you will never-"

His reply was cut short by a very hard blow to the side of the head.

"The lady asked you a question, old man." Grimm said, as he stood over the now crouching Mr. Creol. "I've killed quite a few people in my day, and one more won't make me a new never-mind. Don't make her ask again."

Mr. Creol got to his feet slowly. "Alright," he said reluctantly. "Follow me."

They followed him to the basement where the girl's nightmare had started on that fateful day. He opened a compartment in one of his desks and withdrew the infamous key. He gave it to her with shaky hands.

"Thank you so much! Now I can finally be free!" the girl said elated.

Grimm turned to the uneasy man.

"Well, I guess you've served your purpose. Now then, give me one good reason to let you live" he paused. "…Yeah, I can't think of one either-"

The masked girl jumped in front of him. "Don't! He gave me the key. He can't hurt me anymore! Just let him go! Please! Just let him go!" She pleaded.

Grimm was a bit surprised. "Let him go? You said yourself that he took away your childhood! He stole your life! Don't you want him to pay for that?"

"What's done is done," she said "He'll live with what he's done, and I can live the life I was meant to now that I can take off this mask!"

Grimm wasn't used to letting people off.

"Get out." Was all he could say.

Mr. Creol fell over himself to get away from the pair of masked vigilantes. They listened as his car started and he sped away.

Grimm glanced at the girl. "Now what?" he asked, "You gonna use that key, or what?"

She thought for a moment. "Not yet. Can we go back to the garage?" she asked.

"I guess" said Grimm, "If that's what you want."

End of Chapter 2.

Author's Note: Gears are still turning here. Working on chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3: Resolve

Chapter 3

The pair arrived back at Grimm's childhood haven with the key to unlock the girl's mask in their possession.

She stared at the key, but was very hesitant to use it. Grimm picked up on this.

"What's wrong?" he asked a bit confused.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said, her voice cracking. "I've been in my doll-face for so long, what will I do once I'm out? I don't know how to live a normal life because I wasn't able to. I don't know where to go from here." A single tear escaped the cracked porcelain mask that she wore. "Now that I think about it, you're the only person who has ever helped me. But you'll go away too, just like all the others." She looked away.

"Something's been bugging me." Grimm said. "I still don't understand why you let Creol go. If I had the chance to get even with the guy that destroyed my life and took Benny's, I'd take it in a heartbeat."

She looked at him. He was very serious. "I've been in this mask for a long time, and there's one thing that I know for sure: motivations will drive you, but what they are driven by will control you." She looked at Grimm. "Your motivation is revenge for your friend and closure for yourself, but you will get neither if manage to kill the man responsible for these things. You will be just as empty, he'll just be dead and you'll be purposeless."

"Guess we'll have that in common then." Grimm said, thinking over what he had been presented with, "So what now?"

She looked at him. "I want to take my mask off, but I'm scared. Would you…would you take yours off too?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Grimm said sternly. "I made a promise to Benny and I intend to keep it."

The girl took a step toward him. "I think Benny would have wanted you to survive and live your life to the fullest instead of spending it trying to avenge him. I'm not questioning your loyalty, but I think you owe it to yourself to let go. I am."

She reached up and inserted the oddly shaped key into the back of her mask. The sound of gears and trinkets could be heard moving about and then a click was heard. The mask began to open, and before long it fell away, revealing the beautiful face of a freed woman. Her dark hair fell down a bit past her shoulders and her eyes took a minute to focus to the new adjustment. She ran her fingers along her face.

"It's gone…" she whispered to herself.

Grimm stared at the woman in front of him. So innocent, so carefree; and for a brief moment, he missed those qualities that were taken from him so long ago.

Grimm shot up. "I have to go." He said.

The girl was caught off guard at this.

"Why?" she asked confused. "I know I'm not that pretty, but I don't want you to go!"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Grimm said forcefully. "One, you don't know what you're saying! You're beautiful! Two, I'm a monster. You're everything I'm not and I can never hope to be. I was robbed of my innocence long ago, and I won't hang around and infect you with my problems." Grimm turned to leave.

The girl stood there speechless. She had heard what Grimm said in its entirety, but she was still hung up on one word: "beautiful". Did he really think…No! He couldn't possibly.

Grimm got on his bike, but noticed something was off.

"Lose something?" the woman asked, holding up the key to his motorcycle.

"Give that to me!" Grimm shouted.

"No!" she replied, "Not until you admit that you're worth saving! You've helped me more than you know, and I won't let you just ride off! You need to trust me and yourself and take your mask off too."

Grimm looked down. "I don't know if-"

She moved closer to him and gently removed his "helmet".

"Benny will understand", she whispered.

Before either of them knew what was happening, their eyes closed and their lips met.

They were both free.

-Fin

Author's Note: Alright, that played out a bit different in my head, but oh well. Comments or concerns? Oh, and before anyone flames me to death, yes I realize there is a bit of an age difference between the two. The focus here was their characters, not their birthdays. Well I think that's all for this one. Comments and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are welcome. I'm sure I could stand to fix some things. Thanks much!


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